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Monday, February 22, 2016

Page 69: Tomorrow is a Long Time

Disclaimer: The Page 69 Test is not mine. It has been around since 2007, asking authors to compare page 69 against the meat of the actual story it is a part of. I loved the whole idea of it and so I'm stealing it specifically to showcase small press titles - novels, novellas, short story collections, the works! So until the founder of The Page 69 Test calls a cease and desist, let's do this thing....

Page 69 is
taking place during a time when Eileen is forced to make a decision about
whether she's going to go through with this radical experiment, to see if she
can have a relationship with Cal in the alternate world of his memory (think
Matrix meets The Fringe), which is the only place they could enact this
fantasy, given that he is eighty-some and she is in her twenties. She's also
conflicted because she's in a nice, safe relationship with a guy she's known
since childhood. So it's a choice between the sure thing or the man she
believes that she was always meant to be with, despite the seeming
impossibility of it all. Eileen is dragged to this honorary dinner for her best
friend, who around page 70 or 71 (ha ha) recites a poem about Eileen's longtime
love Cal, which then pushes her towards her decision.

What Tomorrow is a Long Time is about:

On the
superficial level, Tomorrow is a Long
Time is about the age-old fantasy of what if the celebrity you fantasized
about actually felt a connection with you? Celebrity worship is such a powerful
thing and--I think--feels so real to so many people because (with actors especially)
performance art is all about these incredibly attractive individuals convincing
us of these very realistic, vulnerable, intimate emotions and moments. We see
artists exposed on a much more raw, personal level than we maybe even
experience with friends, family, or lovers. So the connection that people feel
to these artists (or their characters, more specifically) seems very real, even
if it is all a fantasy. Eileen feels this way about Cal; she's convinced that
he put his real self into his roles and, therefore, that the connection she feels
to him is real, based on who he really is. And she's right! And he feels the connection,
too.

On a
deeper level, this novel to me is a redemption story, which is the only story
that I'm interested in telling. No matter how much pain and suffering I put my
characters through, there's always the chance for redemption.

Does
this page give readers an accurate sense of what the novel is about?

Man, there are so many other pages I would have chosen over pg. 69! It's
not a pivotal moment, but it's a necessary one. Eileen needed a sign, and this
scene gives her that final push towards Cal. If nothing else, pg. 69 is
indicative of my writing style, so if you like what you read, there plenty of
pages much more riveting but following the same style.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PAGE
69

TOMORROW IS A LONG TIME

and
beauty.”

Isabelle’s
eyes began to tear and I hugged her again. “Oh, no, don’t cry. Happy times,” I
said, trying to make my voice joking and light.

“Thanks,
Lee. This is why I needed you here today. Thank you.”

“Any
time.”

Isabelle
sat me at her private table. Josh was there, and I was happy to see him on her
arm. The sight of them together filled me with such happiness; they completed
each other flawlessly. Secretly, I was relieved that Bear hadn’t been able to
make it. After the shock of seeing Cal, and all that I had to consider, the
last thing I wanted was the guilt of Bear’s hopeful eyes.

Isabelle was glowing, despite her fear. Once
the acclamations had begun over a warm introduction from her former advisor, I
knew that she would feel the reception of those who had come to honor her and
not their impending judgment or skepticism. With the meal, there was a hearty
soup and fresh-baked bread, which would have been quite enough for me. The
three of us chatted comfortably. Josh told us about his new job as a buyer for
a local art gallery. He asked me about the pieces I planned to play in Austria.
I told him how I was modeling them after the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales, and
using the Disney songs that were composed for them but putting a darker, more
authentic sound to them, so that they fit with the Gothicism of the tales.

“Jack
was insisting on my recording them into an album and then begin touring with
them,” I said. “I told him that I think he’s jumping the gun.”

“No, I
gotta tell ya, I think this is one of your coolest ideas yet,” said Josh.

“You
think so?”

“It’s
really exciting,” Isabelle said.

I
smiled, embarrassed by their identically admiring faces. “Okay, well enough
about me. This day is about Iz, after all. What poem will you be dazzling us
with today?”

“Well,
that’s sort of a surprise,” she said, tentatively placing her glass on the
table. “It’s one you haven’t heard yet. I hope that you’ll like it.”

Isabelle
was interrupted by the dean, who had made his way to the podium and was
performing the obligatory fork against crystal gesture.

“Fellow
distinguished members of the board, the Fine Arts Department, and the Committee
for Literary Preservation: it is my privilege to welcome you all here today as
we honor one of our own. A remarkable new voice has been discovered and
cultivated in our midst. She has broken new ground during her graduate work,
and I am now pleased to offer her a place among our published authors. I have
asked Ms. Shales to share in a reading of her exciting work. Please join me in
welcoming her, and congratulating her, to the first of many recognitions to
come for her amazing talent. Ladies, gentlemen: Ms. Isabelle Shales.”

The room
erupted into applause as Isabelle hesitated on wobbling legs before giving my
and Josh’s hands one final squeeze and stepping up the podium.

She
stood smiling, waiting for the applause to calm.

“Good
afternoon. Thank you for having me,” she said. Her voice warbled slightly, and
I bet that only Josh or I would have recognized just how hard it was for her to
fight back the urge to run.

“I’m honored to have been asked to share my
work with you today, albeit…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tabitha is a pen name. Her creator is a certified bookworm, thanks to the countless fairy tales, Bible stories, and nursery rhymes she was read as a child, and the Gothic, Romantic, and Contemporary novels she enjoys today. She has earned a B.A. in English and a M.A. in Teaching, and currently teaches high school English.

On Writing, Tabitha says,"I strive to write the type of stories that I enjoy reading. Ones that question those blurred lines between love and lust, between good and evil. Ones that make us question human nature while simultaneously seeing the beauty in it as well."

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Who's That Girl?

I have been buried beneath small press and self-published review copies since 2009. My passion for supporting the small press and self publishing communities has driven me out into the world wide web to demonstrate alternative ways to spread the word about amazing publishers, authors, and novels you might never had heard of. Feeding your reading addiction, one book at a time.